Amy Manson

Archery in the Vancouver Forest

Amy Manson spent weeks shooting arrows in a forest before audiences saw her face in Once Upon a Time. It was 2015, and ABC was looking for an actress who not only looked Scottish but had that real Highlands toughness. Manson was born in Aberdeenshire, and that gave her a competitive edge no faked accent could match.

She landed the role of Merida.

That performance put her on the international map, but it also typecast her for a time in period or fantasy roles. Before making the leap to major American productions, she had already worked on cult British series such as Torchwood and Casualty. Her training in London helped her handle the pressure of big franchises without losing her bearings.

From Swimming to Drama in London

Before stepping onto a stage, Manson was a regional competitive swimmer. She gave up the sport to move to London and train at the Central School of Speech and Drama, a demanding institution that doesn't hand out passing grades to anyone. She left with a strong physical technique that she would later apply to her action roles.

In 2008, she appeared in Being Human as Daisy. She played a vampire, which allowed her to explore a darker, more violent register. Manson tends to prefer characters with dirty fingernails or broken souls over textbook heroines. Physicality is her main tool on every shoot.

And the gamble paid off.

Maladie's madness and the ghost of Anne Boleyn

In 2021, The Nevers premiered on HBO. Her character, Maladie, demanded a level of mental intensity that would have worn out any less seasoned actress. Manson performed complex action scenes while maintaining a deranged inner monologue that dominated every scene.

That same year, she appeared in Spencer directed by Pablo Larraín. She played Anne Boleyn in Lady Di's hallucinations, a brief but essential role that helped set the film's atmosphere of psychological terror. Critics noted that her presence brought a necessary coldness to a script full of anguish.

A Return to Her Scottish Roots

For 2023, she joined the cast of The Chemistry of Death, a production that blends forensic thriller with classic suspense. Here Manson opted for absolute restraint, which contrasted with her earlier work in the fantasy genre. Her gift for silence proved more unsettling than her screams in previous projects.

In 2024 she took part in the new BBC adaptation of Rebus. Filming took place on real locations in Edinburgh and Glasgow to preserve the authenticity of Ian Rankin's original material. The production used a custom sound design to capture the acoustics of the Scottish winter.

The international distribution deal was closed for a record sum for British public television.